Deep Hades, the woman--his mother, he grudgingly admitted--could twist anything in her favor. Hadn't Hephaestus come up the mountain purely for this, to release his mother and gain the prize? He and Dionysos had put the scheme together, and here was his mother ready to spoonfeed it to him. He knew if she had her way it would go down in history as her idea, and him a lamefooted patsy. To Tartarus with it all!
"It seems you could have saved your breath then, mother. Don't think I trudged up the very side of Olympus simply to enjoy this sight. I am not here for you at all. I'm simply here to collect the prize." Hephaestus eyed his mother. If he released her now with no witnesses, she'd probably claim she had freed herself or some such nonsense. Yet he feared even giving her another moment to use her tongue.
Turning Hephaestus trudged toward the front doors. This was one of those times when walking quickly and elegantly would have been nice. How had she gotten him so tied up and twisted? He had come here to savor victory, not trade barbs.